Cutter for photographic prints and other sheet materials.



W. H. JOHNSON, A. L. BIRD & C. E. CONNELL. CUTTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS AND OTHER SHEET MATERIALS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, I9I4.

1,161,773. I Patented Nov. 23, 1915.

JNVENTORJ WH. Johnson,

A.L.B1lrd, and

CL. Gonna ZL,

A TTORNE Y.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRA- H C0,, WASHINGTON, n. c.

I eaera" srar WILLIAM H. JOHNSON, ARTHUR L. BIRD, AND CHARLES E. CONNELL, BRANDON, VERMONT, ASSIGNORS T0 BIGGJON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF VERMONT.

CUTTER FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS AND OTHER SHEET MATERIALS.-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WVILLIAM H. JOHN- soN, ARTHUR LL BIRD, and CHARLES E. Con- NELL, citizens of the United States of America, and residents of Brandon, in'the county of Rutland and State of Vermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cutters for Photographic Printsand other Sheet Materials, of which the. following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a machine, designed to be manually operated, especially for the trimming of photo prints, but susceptible of employment for the trimming of other sheet material. 7

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a cutter or trimmer in which the carrier for the rotative cutter is so slidably supported that it is incapable of anydeflection-from the line of its movement whereby the trimming action of the disk cutter. or slitter will be impaired. 1 i

Another object is to provide'means whereby the cutter disk maybe held at all times 7 yieldingly against the edge of the sheet material support with which it coacts for the shearing or cutting action.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the tension or force with which the cutter disk isrheld' against the cutting edge of the base may be regulated. 1 e 1 7 Another object is to provide means whereby the part of the carrier in which the cutter shaft is j ournaled may be positioned so that the cutter disk may have itsrotation at the cutting edge of the base in aplane slightly angular to the top surface of the base.

Another object is to' provide simple and;

improved means for causing, under the V bodily movement of the carrier along the runner barstherefor, the rotary movement of'the cutter disk, provision here being made for keeping the rotation imparting means under spring tension for the best operation thereof.

Another object is to provide an improved 1 form of clamp for holding the photo prints or other sheet material firmly on the base while the sameare being trimmed. Anotherobject of the invention is to pro- Specification of Letters Tatent.

most desirable and satisfactory operations thereof.

V The invention is described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and is set forth in the claims.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a plan view.

of the improved trimmer. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation with parts inyvertical section all as seen along the line 22, Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a vertical'cross section, ona larger scale, on line 3+3, Fig. 1. Fig. 41 1s a perspective view showing in detail a device to be hereinafter referred to.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all of the views.

In the drawings, A represents a base or low table having a straight cutter edge a. The base or table may advantageously be composed of wood'and the part affording the cutter edge may be a plate a of steel embeddedand secured in the bed; The base has upstanding: brackets B 'B in opposition forwardly of and above the cuttingedge'a I Patented Nov. 23,, 1915. Application fil ed March 9, 1914. Serial No. 823,478.

between and supported by which area pair of horizontal separated and parallelrunner barsDD' l 13' represents a carrier having parallel horizontal holes or bores therethrough and fitted for sliding engagements backward and forward along sald runner bars. ,The said carrier 1s sectionally made, tliat'is a part thereof is comprised in a hanger F, in the opposite depending members 6 Zr of which the shaft G for the cutter {disk J 'is jour- 'naled, The hanger F has an' adjustable rocking connection with the carrier proper, so that the hanger maybe positioned, and retained, in a variably inclined position. The carrier proper E has a depending lug d overhanging and slightly separated from the rear face of the hanger. The top of the.

hanger is held to the carrier properby the vertically applied screw Through the lug d are set screws 6, shown in Figs. -1 and3 which have crowding engagement against the hanger so that the latter may be slightly tilted to carry the shaft G, journaled through the hanger, and axially at right angles to the base edge a, at a slight forward and downwardinclination so that the cutter disk will have its rotation in a plane which is correspondingly slightly upw wardly and forwardly: inclined for preventing thephoto print or other paper or sheet material while being cut from partaking of a'folded condition between the face of the cutter disk and the base edgeas frequently occurs in the operation of dull or improperly adjusted members of shears. It is to be understood that in the crowding action imparted, by the screws 6, the'hanger F is slightly deflected on the extremity of the connecting screw 7. p Y

The shaft G journaled through the depending hanger members Z), B is slightly movable endwise through said members and it is forced forwardly by the spring 9 in compression in a hollow hub b of the'm'ember bibetween a head it of the regulating screw 72 and the end of the shaft, said screw having a threadengagement through the inclosed end of the hub.

1 The disk carrying shaft 'G between the hangers has a pulley z' aflixed thereon,

aroundwhich a cord or like flexible piece 7' has an encircling engagement, one end of the, cord being'ai'iixed to one of the brackets while the other end of the cord is afiixed to a; stretched [spring 70 aflixed to the other bracket. This spring is operative to main-v tain the cord always under tension and with the pulley encircling intermediate portion thereof comparatively tight around the pulley; and allso that when the carrierE is moved; backwardly and. forwardly on the parallel runner bars D D, by m'anualaction' through the knob or handle m with which the carrier is provided, the pulley shaft and cutter disk will be rotated with extreme rapidity for the cutting action The cutter disk being diametrically greater than the pulley, it has a greater edge speed than the peripheral speed of thepulley for correspondingly improved slitting action.

'Along-one end ofthe table or base, at

i right anglesfto the cutter edge a is a stationary gage'bar L;-and adjacent to and outside. of same, parallel therewith, is a bar M. slidable through a horizontal guideway '11. therefor which carries at its forward end :a stop gage .M which extends parallel with the cutting edge. The aforementioned stationary gage stop L may have graduations in units of measurement, such as inches and sub-divisions thereof, and the movable gage-stoprcarrying-bar M may be confined in any adjusted position bythe set screw 0. By setting the adjustable gage stop M forwardly, at any predetermined distance from the .cutting edge, portions ofthe sheet mawhich might nematerial of any required dimension may be cut off from the portion held on the base with precision and in a convenient manner.

, O represents a clamp normally elevated above the top surfaceof the base as shown in Fig. 3. -.This clamp is comprised as a part of or carried by a bail shaped member,

the opposite parallel arms 0 0 of which have end eyes 0 which have encircling engagements with the rearward one of the runner bars D, and so that the clamp may have a swinging motion down toward, and upwardly retiring from, the top of the base.

Springs t are provided for normally maintaining the clamp more or less above the upper surface of the base, and as here of rubber, to, to act as bulfersso that if the cutter disk carrier is driven unduly hard and far backward or forward,;shock result therefrom will be prevented. The holes omade in parallelism through the carrier E are somewhat-largerthan the diameters of the runner bars D D; and they receive therein tubular fiber antifriction bushings which greatly increase the running efficiency of the carrier and preclude the necessity of lubrication Similar bushings o are provided in the hanger for the cutter disk shaft G, as represented in Fig. 2.

Changes of minor character and inrespect to details of construction may,within the purviewof the claims, be made without departing from this invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

We claim i Y 1. In a paper trimmerfa base having a straight cutting edge, and having a horizontal runner support, above and forwardly of the cutting edge, a carrier slidably mounted on said support, and provided with a hanger,-hav1ng-a rocking connection with the carrier,'adjustable means for impart- 7 ing a variably inclined position to the hanger and reta ning 1t therem, an approximately horizontal, transverse, shaft rotatively mountedin the hanger provided with a cutter disk adapted under the positioning of the hanger to'be arranged at a slight upward and forward inclination to the top surface of thebase, for coaction with the straight edge ofthe latter, and means operative under the bodily movement of the carrier for impartingrotation to the disk-oarstraight cutting edge, and having brackets upstanding above the base and in opposition forwardly of the cutting edge, a pair of parallel separated horizontal runner bars extending between and supported by said brackets, a carrier slidably engaged with both said runner bars and having a substantially horizontal shaft rotatively mounted therein, provided with a cutter disk arranged for coaction with the straight edge of said base and having a pulley aflixed thereon, and a flexible connection extending between and connected with said brackets,

comprising a tensioning spring and having a rotating engagement with the said pulley, and operative under the bodily movement of the latter with the carrier. to impart a rotation to the disk-carrying shaft; j

3; In a paper trimmer, a base having a straight cutting edge and having at its opposite ends, brackets upstanding above the base and in opposition forwardly of the cutting edge, a runner support extending betweenand supported by said brackets, a carrier slidably mounted on said runner bars and made at its rear side with depending lugs, a hanger bracket under the carrier, .a'

screw connecting the hanger and carrier, screws engaged through the said hanger lugs, and for exerting a lateral .thrust against the hanger, a shaft mounted in said hanger and carrying a cutter disk arranged for coaction with the straight edge of said base, and a pulley fixed on said shaft, and means operative under the bodily movement of the carrier for imparting rotation to the disk carrying shaft.

4. In a paper trimmer, a base having a straight cutting edge, a horizontal support above and parallel with'said straight edge,

a carrier slidably mounted on said support,

and having a shaft extending transverse to the base-edge, rotatively mounted therein,

inclined slightly downwardly and forwardly and provided with a cutter disk r0 tative in a plane at right anglesito the shaft axis, cooperative with said base-edge and axially movable relatively to the sup- Copies of this patent may be obtained'for port, a spring forexerting a yielding force against the shaft in a direction toward the base edge, and means operative under the bodily movement ofthe carrier for imparting a rotation to the disk-carrying shaft.

5. In a paper trimmer, a base having a straight cutting edge having brackets upstanding above the base, in opposition, for

wardly of said cutting edge, a pair of parallel separated horizontal runner bars extending between said brackets, a carrier s'lidably mounted on said runner bars having a shaft extending transversely rela tively to the base edge, rotatively mounted therein, and provided with a cutter disk cooperative with the base edge, a clamp comprised in 'a bail'shaped member having end eyes which have encircling engagements with one of said runner bars, said clamp bemg cooperative with said base, springs comprising coils encircling the runnerbar and extensions of said coils, one of each engaging the upstanding brackets and the other engaging under the arms of the-clampbail, and means, operative under the bodily movement of the carrier, for imparting a rotation to the disk carrying shaft. 7

6. In a paper trimmer, a base having a straight cutting edge and having brackets upstanding above the base in opposition forwardly of the cutting edge, a pair of parallel separated horizontal runner bars extending between and supported by said brackets, tubular resilient buffers on one ofthe runner bars next tothe brackets, a carrier slidably engaged with both said runner bars and'having an axial horizontal shaft rotativelymounted therein, provided with a cut- I ter disk arranged for i coaction with the straight edge of said base and having a pul ley aiiixed thereon, and means operative under the bodily movement of the carrier for imparting rotationto the shaft.

Signed by usrat Brandon, Vermont in five cents each, by'addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

